A huge shout out to the donors who made the Sally E. Morehouse Memorial Rehabilitation and Training Center possible. Because of your generosity, CMVHR can now rehabilitate and train horses, and offer education and outreach programs in all seasons, including being the new host site for the local 4-H program — the Equi-Riders Club. You inspire us. Thank you beyond words!

Buck

Crane Mountain Valley Horse Rescue, Inc. is pleased to share that we reached out capital campaign goal to build the Sally E. Morehouse Memorial Rehabilitation and Training Center. Sally’s courage and strength and the endearing relationship she and Buck shared at our farm, inspired us to turn our dream of having an indoor facility to heal broken bodies and broken souls in all seasons, into a reality. With thanks to the generosity of our donors, that dream has come true.

Theirs was a love affair: Sally & Buck. We first met Sally over 12 years ago when her friend, Irene, brought her to our farm to brush a horse — a dream she long wished to fulfill — a dream that Buck (below) made come true.

At age 20, a car accident left Sally a quadriplegic. Brushing a horse required a horse that would understand Sally’s vulnerabilities and her wheelchair. From an early age, Buck demonstrated an innate ability to sense human emotion and connect with people in ways that embrace unconditional love.

When Sally and Buck met it was magic. He nuzzled her hair and pushed her around in her chair, while Sally smiled and laughed and accepted what we call “Buck hugs”, where he wraps his head around you and squeezes.

For the next several years, Sally visited Buck at the farm and their love affair continued — more Buck hugs, smiles and laughter — until Sally’s body would no longer let her make the trip. Then, her visits with Buck were through photos we sent and phone conversations. And each year at the holidays, Sally faithfully sent a donation in honor of Buck.

Though Sally lost her ability to walk at an early age, she never lost her courage, strength, sense of humor, positive outlook, or her compassion for all living beings. When we learned that Sally had a photo of Buck on her big screen TV when she “slipped into Glory”, as her pastor says, it touched us to the core. We knew immediately that we must embark on a capital campaign to raise funds to build the indoor facility we had long desired to heal broken bodies and broken souls in all seasons. And we knew then that we would name it for Sally.

We were honored to have been invited to speak at Sally’s memorial service. When we shared with her family and friends our plans to build the Sally E. Morehouse Memorial Rehabilitation and Training Center to instill Sally’s courage, strength, and compassion in others through our work, they were deeply moved and said Sally would be pleased.

“The first thing you feel when you drive in is peace. Then, immediately, love. From people and horses. They are full of hope and joy, although they see such misery and despair. Because it started with LOVE. Giving it. Because of their passion for horses, they couldn’t ignore the reality that 50,000 to 100,000 horses are slaughtered in the U.S. yearly, not to mention the abuse and neglect we see in the news regularly. In the hard work and dedication of Nancy and Eddie at CMVHR, you can begin to learn the truth and value of what they believe, and how they live their beliefs: ‘By saving the life of one horse, we may not be changing the world, but we are changing the world for that one horse.’” Sally Morehouse